LBCC Men's Team to Play Imperial Valley Tonight

The Long Beach City College men's basketball team hosts Imperial Valley College tonight at 7:30 p.m. in a regional playoff game. The winner advances to the state championships next week at Fresno's Selland Arena.

The Vikings (27-6) finished second in the Metropolitan Conference, but advanced to the state regional round with wins over Harbor College (43-38) and Pasadena College (73-69 in overtime) in the league's post-season tournament. Top-ranked El Camino College won an automatic seed in the state finals by capturing the Metro title.

Imperial Valley (23-9) finished third in the Pacific Coast Conference.

A win tonight would advance ninth-ranked Long Beach into the state championship round for the eighth time under Coach Bill Fraser. Fraser is 279-114 in 12 seasons at the school. His only state crown came in 1976.